The Paman languages are an
Australian language family spoken on
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
. First noted by
Kenneth Hale, Paman is noteworthy for the profound
phonological
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
changes which have affected some of its descendants.
Classification
Various
classifications of the Paman languages exist. The one outlined below is that of
R. M. W. Dixon
Robert Malcolm Ward "Bob" Dixon (born 25 January 1939, in Gloucester, England) is a Professor of Linguistics in the College of Arts, Society, and Education and The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Queensland. He is also Deputy Director o ...
, though he does not accept that these branches are necessarily related to each other.
[See Dixon (2002), pp. xxx–xlii.]
Geographically, running down the east coast, they are:
*
North Cape York
**
Northern Paman
**
Umpila
*
Umbindhamu †
*Lamalamic
**
Umbuygamu †
**
Lamu-Lamu
*
Yalgawarra †
*Yalanjic
**
Guugu Yimithirr
**
Guugu Yalandji
**
Barrow Point † (>>
Wik?)
*
Mbariman-Gudhinma †
*
Djabugay †
Down the west coast, they are:
*
North Cape York
**Northern Paman
**
Wik
*
Southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
**Upper Southwest Paman
***
Kuuk Thaayorre
Kuuk Thaayorre (Thayore) is a Paman language spoken in the settlement Pormpuraaw on the western part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia by the Thaayorre people. As of 2006, 250 of the 350 ethnic Thaayorre speak the language. It ...
***
Kuuk Yak †
***
Kunjen (incl. Ogh Undjan)
**
Yir-Yoront
The Yir-Yoront, also known as the Yir Yiront, are an Indigenous Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula now living mostly in Kowanyama (''kawn yamar'' or 'many waters') but also in Lirrqar/Pormpuraaw, both towns outside their traditional ...
(incl.
Yirrk-Thangalkl) †
**
Koko-Bera (incl.
Gugu Dhaw)
*
Kok-Nar †
*Norman Paman
**
Kurtjar
**
Kuthant †
*
Gugadj †
In the interior, south of Wik, they are:
*Thaypan
**
Gugu Thaypan (?Rarmul) †
**
Aghu Tharrnggala †
**Ikarranggal-Alungul-Angkula
***
Ikarranggal †
***
Alungul †
***
Angkula †
**
Takalak †
*Southern
**
Agwamin †
**
Mbabaram †
**
Mbara †
**
Walangama
The Walangama were an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland.
Language
Walangama, now extinct, was one of the Paman languages. William Armit, a local police inspector writing in the 1880s, stated that Walangama differed markedly ...
†
The name ''
Gugu Mini
The Kokomini (''Gugumini'') are reported to have been an indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland, though some indications suggest the term may refer to a loose confederation of tribal groups.
Name
The ethnonym Gugumini means ''g ...
'' means 'good speech', and has been applied to several languages in the Thaypan area. 'Possum language' ''(Koko-Possum, Gugu Yawa)'' is another generic name of this area.
The unclassified
Marrett River language (†) was presumably Paman, though distinct from its neighbors, as presumably was
Wik Paach (†). The
Mayabic languages (†) to the southwest were once classified as Paman, but have been excluded in Bowern (2011).
Alodja may have been another Thaypan / Rarmul Pama language.
See also
*
Pama–Maran languages
Notes
References
:
{{Australian Aboriginal languages
Indigenous Australian languages in Queensland